10 Things I love about you, Madeline

You are my little one. For another couple of months, you’re going to be my little one and I am going to enjoy these couple of months with my tiny Madeline as much as I can. But oh, how big you are already, everyday you are showing me how strong and amazing you are. I often expect you to be able to do the same as your sister, even though you are younger, but I know you can and I know you’re eager to be that big girl. Last year and the year before I wrote down 10 things I loved about you then, and there we go again – 10 things I absolutely love about you right now, little girl:

1. The thousands shades of red and strawberry blond in your hairs. Your my little lion. Especially when you refuse to brush your little mane before going to school Although you’ll let me, every now and then, put your hair up in “a piggy and a little bad wolf” – that’s how you call pig tails I hope that you never loose that red out of your hair.

2. The tiny little freckles that continue to show up, one by one, on your nose and cheeks. You only have a few, but I love to look at them when you’re taking your afternoon nap.

3. Your hugs. and how much love you give with them. You were already the best hugger when you were 5 months old, and that really hasn’t changed much. I hug you tight at night, but you hug me even tighter. Like, you are the one teaching me how it’s done You often ask to come snuggle with mama in my bed before you go to sleep, and while we’re laying down next to each other you’ll often take my face between your tiny little hands, look straight into my eyes with your pretty blue eyes. and start kissing my head from my forehead to my chin. And then you start giggling because you think it’s so funny

4. Your acting skills. Girl, you can pull off a mean Big Bad Wolf and scared Little Piggies like nobody else I know We’ve got to read this story to you almost every night.

5. How little you are, but how you are so aware of the things and people around you! You’re a smart little cookie. You ask questions, tons of them – like “how will the baby get out mama?” Ha, yes, about that….;) You’re always processing info and thinking. Oh, and you hardly mix the three languages that you’re learning when you speak with daddy and me, but with your sister you’ll adapt and speak perfect franishglish with her, because you know that’s what she does. I don’t know how to know the things that you know, but somehow you just do.

6. your little voice when you sing. You’ll take your guitar with you, and try to be right on pitch< and it’s oooh so cute how you put your whole heart into it Your favorite song to sing right now? “Do you hear the people sing” from the movie Les Miserables. Don’t ask me why, a few weeks ago you came to me and told me “Mama, it’s my favorite song”. The little rebellious French girl in you, perhaps?

7. That you always want to do things and explore! While your sister tends to be a bit more of a homebody sometimes, you barely have time to ask you if you want to come to something with us that your Kitty shoes (your crocs with Hello Kitty on) are already on your feet and your reaching out for these huge sunglasses of yours. You were born ready to go on adventures

8. Your sense of humor. You’ll often change words in a song just to be funny, or make a joke on me to see how I’ll react to it And you have the most mischievous smile on when you know you’re being funny.

9. How much you care for others. If I am having a bad day you’ll come and give me a hug. If you get a snack for yourself, you’ll always ask that I give you one for your sister too because you know she’ll want one. When we talk about your baby sister and that she’ll cry sometimes, you say you’ll give her kisses and share your toys with her.

10. the sum of you – that you are so uniquely you. Every new thing we find out about you is so different. Your red hair and blue eyes, your little freckles, your strong personality, your sense of humor….and now we know, you’re a leftie on top of it Before you were born I somehow thought that you and Olivia would be very similar, because I looked like my own sister so much and everybody always compared us. But no, you are your very own, amazing little thin. We secretly call you our four leaf clover. Keep being yourself, little girl, because everybody else is taken anyway.

You are my sunshine, and I’ll keep hugging you tight forever and ever.

And look at that smile ! She’s definitely yours, you can’t deny
I recognize some of my youngest boy in Madeline’s description, it sounds like I could have written this for him, it’s a bit weird to read this actually, maybe second children share some features…?
She’s such a delightful child, and she’s so lucky to have this letter she can read when she’s older.